The decision was made to strengthen the army's capabilities to carry out special operations in the insurgency-hit region, he added. The Special Forces, also known as Para commandos, will be used in operations which are beyond the functions of a normal infantry battalion.
The 11 Para (SF) will be deployed under the Tezpur-based 4 Corps and 3 Corps in Dimapur. Personnel of the unit will be taken by aircraft or helicopters to conduct surgical strikes or special operations depending on the situation.
At present, the army is eyeing such operations in Manipur, upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh's Tirap and Changlang districts. If the need arises, personnel of this battalion may also be deployed under the Siliguri-based 33 Corps.
Initially, the army headquarters in New Delhi wanted the Assam Regiment to provide manpower for the new battalion. But sources said the latter did not agree to the proposal as its troops are currently engaged in anti-insurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir and Chhattisgarh. Recently, a battalion of the regiment has been deployed in Chhattisgarh.
The army headquarters, later, decided to form the new battalion by taking out manpower from the existing Para battalions. This will be the eighth Special Forces' battalion of the Parachute Regiment which has 10 units under it. Seven among them have already been trained and classified as Special Forces, which are supposed to carry out counter-insurgency operations during peacetime and sabotage enemy installations beyond enemy lines during wars.
The Special Forces' battalions include 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 21 Para units. They are deployed in different sectors of the country and have also been given the responsibility to handle 26/11 type attacks near their area of deployment.
Sources said the Army Headquarters wants to increase the number of Special Forces' battalions to 10 with about 700 men in each unit. These battalions have
been provided with modern equipment such as Tavor 21 assault rifles.
Sources said the Special Forces may be more engaged in Manipur, which is still the hotbed of insurgency. They may be called for surgical strikes in Chandel, Ukhrul and Churachandpur districts bordering Myanmar where Manipuri rebels still dominate large hilly tracts. Nagaland will not be on their agenda for the moment as all factions of NSCN are engaged in peace talks with the Centre.